PRESEASON GPP · PHASE 1
This is General Preparation — the foundation phase of the season, run through preseason before competitive demands become the priority. It is the window where we can expose the athlete to meaningful training volume while pitch and match demands are still manageable. This is where we build the muscle, strength base and physical resilience that later phases of the season will depend on.
Every athlete is training toward something different. Some need to build muscle. Some need to rebuild physical capacity. Others need to improve body composition while protecting the strength they have already earned.
One programme cannot emphasise all of those adaptations equally.
This programme's primary focus is hypertrophy.
It is built to add meaningful muscle without losing sight of the lifts that matter. Four anchor lifts — Barbell Hip Thrust, Bench Press, High-Handle Hex Bar Deadlift and Chin-Up — remain constant while training volume, accessory exercise selection and session structure create the hypertrophy stimulus around them.
The programme consists of two gym sessions per week plus one short, autoregulated post-pitch Robustness Top-Up. Across eight weeks, hypertrophy volume is accumulated while the anchor lifts progressively move toward higher-intensity strength work, culminating in 3RM strength testing at the end of Week 8.
The objective is simple:
Build the body armour now. Keep the anchors moving forward. Enter the next phase bigger, stronger and prepared for what comes next.